Tang of Shang
| Tang 湯 | |||||||||
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Depiction of King Tang by Ma Lin | |||||||||
| King of the Shang dynasty | |||||||||
| Reign | c. 1600 BC - c. 1587 BC | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Position established Shi Gui of Predynastic Shang | ||||||||
| Successor | |||||||||
| Leader of the Predynastic Shang | |||||||||
| Reign | ? - c. 1600 BC | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Shi Gui | ||||||||
| Successor | Position abolished | ||||||||
| Born | c. 1670 B.C. Predynastic Shang | ||||||||
| Died | c. 1587 B.C. Bo (亳, modern-day Shangqiu, Henan) | ||||||||
| Spouse | Bi Jia (妣甲) Bi Bing (妣丙) | ||||||||
| Issue | Da Ding, Bu Bing | ||||||||
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| Cheng Tang | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 成湯 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 成汤 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Temple name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 太乙 大乙 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Birth name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 子履 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 子履 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Part of a series on |
| Religion of the Shang dynasty |
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Tang of Shang, (c. 1670 B.C. to c. 1587 B.C., born Zi Lü), recorded on oracle bones as Tai Yi or Da Yi, was the first king of the Shang dynasty. Tang is traditionally considered a virtuous ruler, as signified by his posthumous epithet Cheng Tang. According to legend, as the last leader of the Predynastic Shang he overthrew Jie, the last king of the Xia dynasty. As his reign precedes the Late Shang era, records of his life and reign are limited to oracle bone inscriptions and posthumous works.